Tesla loses China fraud case in latest setback in key market

Tesla was ordered to refund the cost of the car and pay Han damages of three times the purchase price – taking the total payout to more than 1.5mil yuan (RM971,435). — Reuters

A Chinese driver has successfully sued Tesla Inc for fraud over his purchase of a second-hand Model S, adding to a run of setbacks for Elon Musk’s electric-car pioneer in one of its most important markets.

A Beijing court found Tesla had misrepresented the condition of the car bought by Han Chao for 379,700 yuan (RM245,902) on the automaker’s official used-car platform, according to a copy of the verdict Han posted to his Weibo account. The car was found to have undergone major repairs following an earlier accident, with the court dismissing Tesla’s defense that signs of welding indicated no “structural change”.